Currently, "information superhighway" and "multimedia" are probably the most often spoken and least often understood aspects of a coming revolution in data communication. Although issues specific to an information superhighway are beyond the scope of the present discussion, interactive multimedia systems are very much within the present scope.
An interactive multimedia system is broadly defined as a system capable of processing, storing, communicating and coordinating data pertaining to visual information, aural information and other information. Visual information is generally divided into still picture or graphics and full motion video or animation categories. In the vernacular of those involved in multimedia, such visual information is generically referred to as "video." Aural information is generally divided into speech and non-speech categories and is generically referred to as "voice." "Other information" is directed primarily to computer data, often organized in files and records, and perhaps constituting textual and graphical data. Such computer data are generally referred to as "data."
To date, multimedia has, for the most part, been limited to stand-alone computer systems or computer systems linked together in a local area network ("LAN"). While such isolated systems have proven popular and entertaining, the true value of multimedia will become apparent only when multimedia-capable wide area networks ("WANs") and protocol systems are developed, standardized and installed that permit truly interactive multimedia. Such multimedia systems will allow long distance communication of useful quantities of coordinated voice, video and data, providing, in effect, a multimedia extension to the voice-only services of the ubiquitous telephone network.
In many instances, call centers (employing audio automatic call distribution systems ("ACDs")) are employed throughout the telephone network (e.g., at a customer's premises) to facilitate the management of voice services therein and the associated customer information database. The call centers have progressed from a group of people at a centralized facility assigned manually to handle all incoming or outgoing calls on a dedicated set of trunks to intelligent call reception, network routing and automatic call processing functionality. Computer automation of the basic call center functions is becoming the standard thereby adding flexibility and intelligence to the telephone operations properly to direct and process the call flow for maximized service response and resource efficiency. Access to host computer databases, coupled with more caller information from the network, are providing new intelligence for dynamic and selective call direction. In addition, there is a trend toward automating modern call centers thereby minimizing human decision-making responsibilities and mechanical functions that slow down or cause errors in the call handling process.
The initial call center technology for handling greater call traffic volumes was focused upon queuing strategies for keeping callers waiting until an available telephone representative was available. The present automated systems, employed in equipment such as ACDs, manage several functions, including: accepting incoming calls, placing calls in a priority order, routing calls to the least busy agent, queuing calls if no agents are available, providing music and announcements while the calls are in the queue, transitioning overflow queued calls to an alternative queue or to voice mail after a prescribed interval and collecting and processing call statistics.
A conventional ACD is commonly equipped with an automated attendant on the front end to assist the call routing and voice mail on the back end to handle overflows and give callers the option of leaving a message instead of waiting. The ACD may also provide distinctive treatment to certain class of callers, for instance, a special group of customers can be routed to a group of agents that have special training. Again, call centers employing ACDs are presently directed at managing the communication of voiceonly, not multimedia, services.
Introducing interactive multimedia into a traditionally voiceonly system presents several unique challenges. Interactive multimedia system must be able to exchange voice, video and data between two or more people interactively through an electronic medium in real time. Because of its interactive and real-time nature, stringent requirements and required services exist that are not normally associated with noninteractive multimedia retrieval systems. Some of the more obvious examples of those requirements and services include latency (transmission delay), conferencing, availability ("up-time") and interoperability. The general compatibility issues related to interactive multimedia systems are disclosed in the above-identified U.S. Patent Applications commonly assigned with the present invention and previously incorporated by reference.
Thus, while ACDs are known in the prior art, prior art ACDs are strictly limited to handling audio information and are, therefore, incapable of handling interactive multimedia services. Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a recognition that prior art ACDs can be made to cooperate with multimedia networks to result in a multimedia extension to the ACD. Further, what is needed in the art is a call center for a communications network that can manage fully-interactive multimedia information in an integrated system.